The Rose With No Thorns
by Lovendork
Summary: After becoming distant with Spain, Portugal has a hard time trusting people, liking to keep everyone at a distance. He likes to keep his newly colonized country, Brazil, at a distance also. But, after time passes, he can't keep it up. Warning: OCs
1. White means innocence

**LuvReinya:** Here I am with another story...again. *gets bricked for writing too many stories at the same time* Why do I keep writing new stories? Because my inspiration muse won't leave me alone. *gets bricked for that corny line* Anyway, this story is called 'The Rose With No Thorns'. It's centered around Portugal and Brazil, but there will be many appearances by Spain and Romano, along with the other canon characters.

I'm using Himaruya's design for Portugal (basically an older looking Spain, but with an elegant look and hair messily slicked back), but with a younger and more 'Hetalia' look. Sorry if that description confuses you D; I have the links to both versions (that I did not draw) that you can see at the end of this chapter.

**Warning:**

Possible inaccurate history

OCs

Typos (sorry ;A;)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Hetalia.

* * *

><p><em>Take my hand and follow me,<em>

_To that place I long to be._

**Portugal**

_Little Troublemaker_

"She's quite the trouble maker, ain't she, captain?"

Portugal just frowned at his first mate's words and watched his crew search the deck of his ship. It had only been an hour since he colonized Brazil and this was the second time the little girl had ran away to hide wherever she could. Not that it would do her any good anyway. They had already set sail when she had gotten out of the crew member's grasp, but the unfortunate thing was that she was quick and seemed to be fairly good at hiding, so she gave them a time looking for her.

"_Sim_, she is rather hard to deal with..." He sighed, crossing his arms. He didn't bother searching for her himself, he found the girl to be trouble enough. When he first brought her aboard to take her to his home, she made a loud fuss and tried to fight everyone although she was very small. She even bit his first mate, André's, hand when he tried to hold her! Although, it was actually a pretty funny sight to see. "But, she'll turn up eventually. Perhaps she'll get hungry and come out."

"Or candy." André suggested, turning his head to glance at Portugal. "You can lure children out with candy."

…

Portugal made a mental note to not leave Brazil alone with André.

…

Whenever she decided to come out.

"Let go!" A tiny voice shouted out.

Keeping his eyes on the sea ahead of them, Portugal spoke again.

"Do I need to look to see who that was?"

"No, captain." André tried to resist a laugh as a crew member held little Brazil up by her dress collar, watching her punch and kick around.

Hearing all the commotion, the nation let out a light chuckle. "She's rather savage, isn't she? I've never seen – or heard – a little girl act like that."

"Hm?" The first mate gave his captain a small look. "That sounds like something the Brits would say, captain. What are you going to do about her?"

The little girl had fire. But, then again, who wouldn't rebel if you just took them away from their home? Before she knew Portugal was colonizing her, she was fairly nice to them when they arrived on her land (although she hid behind a bush, just waiting for them to leave), but lost her wits when they 'abducted' her.

Wait, did André just compare him to the British?

Portugal shot André a glare. "Don't ever say that to me again, or you'll be scrubbing the barnacles from the bottom of the ship; if you know what I mean, André." The other man gave him a frightened look, turning his head away from him.

A pained shout came from another crew member when Brazil bit his hand, making Portugal finally turn around to see the scene behind him. His crew was trying to bring the rambunctious girl over to him, finally managing to keep her still by making two men hold her hands and feet. They tied her hands together and put her down in front of him, the girl put up no more fight when they let her go; perhaps she finally knew that it was futile to resist them. She seemed no more than five years old and it showed from the fear and confusion in the eyes that she tried to glare at him with. Portugal decided not to scold her too harshly, as long as she didn't defy him any longer.

He cleared his throat, making sure to get her attention. She brought her brown eyes up to him, trying – but failing – to look less scared than she really was. "Do you know how much trouble you've caused my crew and I, _menina_?" He asked; keeping his arms crossed as he kept his eyes on hers.

The girl responded to his question in a language that Portugal didn't understand, her voice trembling and her words came out stuttered. He looked to his crew members for answer, wondering if anyone knew what she was saying.

"Captain," Stepping forward, one of his younger crew members spoke up. "_Eu sei_, I think she's speaking Guarani. I've heard it spoken by some immigrants in France and Paraguay. But, I can only understand some words."

Portugal glanced at him then back to Brazil, who started speaking again at the mention of Guarani. "Well then, Pedro, try to decipher what she's saying." He dismissed the other crew members, so only he, André, and Pedro remained.

Pedro stepped in front of the small crowd of crew members to kneel beside Brazil, letting her speak to him instead of the intimidating Portugal. "_Mavápa arypa pe_?" She asked him, her nervous eyes darting between him and his captain.

Pedro took a few moments to think over the girl's words in his head before finally looking back at Portugal. "I think she said 'Who are you?', captain."

Portugal nodded and began to answer Brazil's question. "Why don't you tell me your name, then I'll tell you mine." He smirked.

Hey, it was an answer, wasn't it?

The girl showed recognition to his answer, because annoyance had flashed across her face, but disappeared as soon as it came back into fear.

He continued. "You seem to understand me, do you speak Portuguese or not?"

Brazil shot him a glare then turned her head to Pedro, speaking to him in Guarani once again. Pedro spoke up. "She can only make out of few words of our language, she says." He looked at Brazil. "Tell him your name." He told her in a gentle voice, this made her calm down a little bit.

She looked up at Portugal, giving a braver face, but huddled a little closer to Pedro.

"_Cheréra_ Daniela de Lourdes..." She told him quietly, waiting for his answer back.

Portugal let his smirk turn into a small smile and patted her head gently. He was glad she was finally cooperating with him. "_Boa menina_~ I am Captain Luís João Alvarez." He let his hand linger on her head for a second. "And you are a colony under Portugal now."

Brazil didn't say anything to that statement for some period of time. "_Mba'éichapa_? Colony...under Portugal?" She finally said.

Portugal nodded. "_Sim_, _minha menina_~ You belong to me now." He made note of the girl's long silence, waiting for her response.

Suddenly, Daniela started thrashing and kicking around again, breaking away from Pedro's hold on her. Portugal gave an irritated growl, watching the girl scurry off to hide again – with her hands still tied.

She was going to be a troublesome colony.

* * *

><p><em>Take my hand and trust my way,<em>

_In that place forever stay._

**Brazil**

_Caretaker_

It would take a while to get Lisbon, where Portugal's home was; that's what Pedro told Daniela. So, she was given a small room to sleep in, with a cot and porthole to look outside through. Pedro had cleaned it out for her and made it seem presentable, because in all actuality, it was an old storage closet since she couldn't share a room with any of the crew members. Portugal had no intention of being stuck with a little girl through the whole voyage, so they thought that was the best.

Pedro laid a pillow on the cot, straightening out the blanket before turning to Brazil; who was currently asking all sorts of questions about what was going on. What would Lisbon be like, why were they in this room, would they be here forever and so many more questions that mentally drained poor Pedro – and didn't even answer them yet!

"Uh, why don't you slow down and I'll answer whatever questions I can?" He asked her, taking a seat on the cot himself to rest.

Nodding, the little girl went over to sit next to him on the cot. Her curious and still slightly scared eyes glanced up at him. "What...is colonization?" The girl spoke in battered Portuguese. "It...hurt?" She stopped speaking in Guarani sometime ago, when she figured out that Pedro couldn't speak it back to her, and finally spoke the little Portuguese that she knew. Her sentences were choppy, but it was enough for him to know what she was saying.

The Portuguese man frowned also, her question making him feel guilty about Portugal colonizing her in the first place. But, he quickly shook his head to brush off the feeling. "Well..." Should he lie? He'd seen Portugal treat some of his other colonized countries worse than he did her; and he was quite sure other countries weren't only colonized, but _beaten_ and _raped_. "Sometimes it can be, but not always."

Hey, it was the truth.

He judged by her even more unsettled look that his answer didn't help her one bit. He quickly tried to cover up what he said. "But, I'm sure Portugal wouldn't do anything bad to you!" He patted her back awkwardly. "He may seem...off-putting, _criança_, but he's nicer than he appears. He wouldn't do anything to a little girl like you."

Brazil just started at Pedro for a minute, which made the latter think she didn't understand a word he said. She may not have understood him, but her expression calmed just a bit and she began to lay down on the cot, scooting up to lay her small head on his lap. The action made Pedro feel slightly awkward, in all of his young life he had never taken care of children before. Well, not little girls. He had a younger brother waiting for him back in Portugal, but he was only a year younger than Pedro himself. What should he do?

Lifting his hand, he wondered what to do. Should he pat her head again? Lay her on the bed so she could sleep? He let it linger in the air before awkwardly laying it back down, deciding to just let her rest and do nothing.

"Sleepy..." Brazil mumbled tiredly, closing her eyes to take a nap.

Pedro nodded and let her rest, this _had _to be a tiring day for her. He couldn't imagine what it was like to be colonized, although he was under Portugal's orders. At least at the end of their trip, he could go home to his family. Daniela would be under his rule until she proclaimed her independence – whenever that was.

Hearing a knock at the door, Pedro looked up to see Portugal walk in. Pedro straightened up and picked up Brazil from his lap, laying her behind him on the cot. His quick movement made Portugal grin, watching the younger boy place the blanket over his brand new colony. "No need to get embarrassed~ Someone has to be this girl's friend around here."

Pedro stood up and hurried over to his captain. "Ah, what..?" He shook his head quickly, feeling flustered. He was a pirate, he couldn't appear soft in front of his captain! "I'm not embarrassed, I was just making sure she'd be alright."

Portugal let a light chuckle pass his lips. The boy's choice of words sounding all _too_ familiar to him. "You sound like someone I know..." He grinned, ruffling Pedro's hair. He didn't wait for an answer, continuing. "Well, she's alright. It's time for dinner, let's go to the dining hall."

Pedro followed as Portugal started to head out of the room, but cast one last glance at the sleeping Brazil before leaving.

_She'll probably be hungry when she wakes up, maybe I should bring her back something..._He thought to himself before leaving the room, closing the door gently behind him.

* * *

><p><strong>LuvReinya:<strong> How'd you like the story so far? Reviews are appreciated, especially historical criticism (I need it XD). Did you notice that switched between human and country names for Brazil? I was wondering if I should do that for all of the characters or use either or. What do you guys think; human names or country?

Apparently, I can't post links here, so you'll have to look up the pictures of Portugal on google. Himaruya's design should be one of the first ones to come up, it's hand drawn with Portugal's flag on it also.

I hate to give him a name I picked, since I know once he's introduced his name will be completely different (although his last name will probably still be Carriedo), but I thought it would suit him.

**Portuguese translator:**

_Sim: _Yes

_Menina: _Little girl

_Eu sei:_ I know

_Boa menina: _Good girl

_Minha menina: _My girl

_Criança: _Kid

**Guarani translator:**

_Mavápa arypa pe: Who are you?_

_Cheréra: _My name is...

_Mba'éichapa:_ What?


	2. Yellow means friendship

**Note: **Please excuse any historical inaccuracy in this chapter. I know Portugal and Spain used to be long-standing enemies, but I wanted to put in some bits of happier times before they became enemies.

* * *

><p><em>Follow me toward the sand;<em>

_We'll run and play,_

_Hand in hand._

**Portugal**

_Portugal's past: Hermano_

_Many years earlier~_

Waking up to a bright spring day should be nice, _não_? Pulling back the curtains in your bedroom to see the birds, the bees, and the flowers should be very calming and make you happy. Right?

Not really.

At least, if it wasn't birds, bees, flowers, and all that good stuff that you woke up to. I woke to see a dumb field of tomatoes. Every. Damn. Day. At first, looking at my little brothers tomato field (that he worked oh so hard on) was cute and made me a little proud. But, dammit, it's been hundreds and hundreds of years since then. It gets rather annoying, you see. I _barely _like the color red anymore. This morning, I open my bedroom curtains to see my _irmãozinho_ planting even more of his red minions with a small smile on his face. Dirt covered his bare hands, knees, and face as he dug into the ground with his little shovel. I looked up to the sky to see the hot sun shining brightly, it must be sweltering out there. But, there my little brother was, working on his precious tomatoes despite the heat. Me? I didn't love tomatoes as much as he did (if you couldn't tell by now), so I didn't care for planting them like he liked to. Me, I liked fishing. Antonio would always complain that we ate too much fish. I told him that saying that was as much blasphemy to me as me saying that we grew too many tomatoes to him.

"Hey, Antonio!" I opened my window to yell out to him.

He dropped his shovel and cast a surprised look over to my window. The smile on his face increased about tenfold as he waved at me enthusiastically.

I just grinned and shook my head. "Come inside and get ready for breakfast!"

He nodded, standing up to run inside of the house as I closed the window. Opening the kitchen curtains, I let some light flow into the slightly dim room. I was always pleased to see no tomato fields from the view of the kitchen window, but the pond not too far from our house where I loved to fish. I remembered the last time I took Antonio fishing. It wasn't too long ago, he was a few hundred years old then, but had already gotten to the physical age of eleven. I wasn't much older than he was, but my mind was more mature (of course). Anyway, I can still recall the bored look on his face and what he said to me as we waited for fish to bite.

"_Ah, hermano, this is a bit boring. Isn't it?"_ He told me, then ran off to explore around and left me with two fishing rods to watch. Pretty soon after that, he saw a sea turtle swimming in the pond and tried to catch it – falling into the pond in the process. He cursed for the very first time when he fell in, a word he probably heard from me. And I laughed my ass off at him when he managed to finally crawl out of the pond, dripping wet. He just ignored my laughing and clung to me like a lost kid, whining about how he wanted to go back home. Hm...He got my sympathy then (after I stopped laughing), although now I can't help but feel like he just did that to make us go home earlier. Little devil.

"_Hermano~_!" He came running into the kitchen...still dirty. I see what he was spending the rest of his time in the field doing, he had brought in a little basket of ripe tomatoes. I think I already know what he was going ask me. "What are you making for breakfast? I picked these tomatoes, in case you were making something that involved them."

I ruffled his hair, getting the _oh so subtle_ hint he was giving. "We can have something with tomatoes for lunch, Antonio. God knows we have them everyday already...But now, we're having _torrijas_. How does that sound?"

He nodded and set the basket on the counter, turning back to me. "Okay~ But, I get to make breakfast!" He smiled cheekily, knowing I'd say yes.

I already knew what he was going to make: tomato sandwiches.

"Haha, alright." I said simply. "But, you surely can't eat while you're like that. Go get ready, okay?"

Running off, Antonio went to get cleaned up, leaving me to get breakfast started. Breaking an egg, I looked out of the window with a bored expression on my face. What a slow day, I kind of wished for some excitement. Any excitement. A few minutes later, I heard a noise coming from not too far away. Leaning out of the window a little more, I noticed a head of blonde hair.

Wait, what?

I turned my head when I heard a knock at the front door. Don't tell me...

No.

NO.

I TAKE MY WISH BACK.

I went to answer the door, opening it slightly so I could peak out. "Yes..? What do you want?" I saw enough to see blue eyes looking back at me.

"Honhonhonhon~ I'm shocked. You haven't seen me enough times to know my face, _Louis_?"

_SLAM._

As I closed the door again, I heard Antonio shout to me from back in his room. "_Hermano_, who's at the door?"

I sighed and opened the door again, only fully this time. France was still there, unaffected by my door-slamming. If this teenage French boy didn't get me to open the door for him, Antonio would. "It's your little boyfriend!" I answered Antonio first, then looked back at Francis. "I know your face, that's why I didn't want to let you in. And, it's _Luís_, not Louis, so stop calling me that."

The Frenchman walked in when I stood aside, his grin still on his face. Did he ever stop smiling?

"Oh, _excusez-moi_~" He laughed. "So, Antoine is here? Or will it just be me and you, _ma tarte au Portugal_?"

I raised my eyebrow. I had no idea what Francis just said, but it sounded terrifying. "Um, no. _Antoine_ should be down in a bit, _Francois_." I said with emphasis, as if I were a butler. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must make breakfast."

…

Yeah, I know, I'm weird.

Luckily, Antonio chose now to come down from his room. "My boyfriend?" He asked, walking up beside me then turned to Francis. "I don't have a – Oh, Francis! What are you doing here?"

Walking back to the kitchen, I didn't bother to listen to the rest of their conversation. I heard France say something about wanting to see Antonio and his 'good looking brother'.

Ugh. Yeah, that was a good time to leave.

* * *

><p><em>Take my heart and hold it true;<em>

_Forever I'll be close to you._

_Present day~ (15th Century)_

A large wave rocking the ship brought Portugal from his thoughts. "Hm..?" He opened his until then closed eyes, glancing around. The dim lighting of his room met his eyes as he sat up in his bed. _Dreamed of my brother, huh?_ He thought to himself, looking out of the window to see they gray sky. Gray? Rain must be coming. _We haven't spoken since he went to explore the world and became a conquistador. Maybe I should pay him a visit..._He stood up, smoothing out his now rumpled clothes and hair. The brothers used to have a fairly good relationship, living together in earlier times, but had now developed a somewhat competitive one. They both wanted to conquer the new world, along with other European countries such as Britain and France, no doubt they wouldn't try to one-up the other. Unfortunately, that made them become tense and slightly hostile toward the other and they had never recovered the brotherly bond that they used to have. It saddened Portugal and he couldn't help but wonder if Spain felt the same way.

His door opened, Pedro sticking his head in. "Captain, a storm's coming!" He exclaimed. "We need you on the deck, _senhor_!"

Portugal nodded and rushed out of his quarter's with the boy, grabbing his hat on the way. "Where is Brazil?" He asked, coming out on the deck to see his crew members rush to secures the ropes on the ship.

He and Pedro held onto the railing when another big wave rocked the large ship. "I-I left her in her room, captain." Portugal could tell that the boy was shaken by the storm. In all his years on the ship, though few, Pedro had never been through a storm like this.

"Alright, you go and make sure she won't try to leave her room." Portugal ordered. "Stay with her. I need to go help André and the rest of the crew." He started to head off to his first mate before Pedro's unsure voice spoke to him again.

"Ah, captain..?"

Turning, Portugal looked back at the boy. "What, _menino_?"

"Is the s-ship going to be okay?"

At that, the man chuckled. "Don't worry." He tried to calm his young crew member. "This isn't the first big storm my crew and I have seen. The _Lavanda Beleza_ can hold up." With that, he ran to help the crew, leaving Pedro to go take care of Brazil.

Satisfied with his captain's answer, Pedro hurried to Brazil's tiny room, opening the door as he started to peek in. The room seemed empty, making the boy worry for a moment that she left it. Captain Luís would surely make him swim with the fish if his new colony had gotten away. "D-Daniela..?" He heard a small whimper coming from behind a crate in the corner. Curious, Pedro stepped inside the room and tried to look behind the crate. There was room behind it, even though it was placed in the corner. There was just enough room for. "Daniela?"

He saw the little colony curled up into somewhat of a ball, sitting on her bottom with her legs held up to her chest. The girl's almost tearful brown eyes looking up at him.

Pedro held his arms out, trying to indicate to her that it was alright for her to come out. "Come on, _criança_~ It's okay..." He nearly fell over when the ship rocked wildly from yet another wave, holding onto the nearest object. That seemed to startle Brazil as she ran to him to help keep him up, although the girl was too small to really be of much help. He tried to laugh off his nervousness when she gazed up at him, worried. "I'm fine, it was just a wave. A little wave like that can't scare a pirate like me!" He placed his hands on his hips in a brave manner, despite his slight trembling. He hoped Portugal and the crew had a handle on things on the deck...

Brazil just responded with the same look, but it lightened and became a little calmer after he made that pose. He remembered that she probably still didn't know what he was saying. He had taught her basic sentences in Portuguese, but she hadn't gotten as far as to decipher long sentences. Pedro sat on the floor against a crate and picked her up, setting her down in his lap so she'd stay calm. They stayed like that for a few quiet minutes, listening to the thunder and watching the rain fall heavily through the porthole, the ship still rocking more than they would like.

"You know," Pedro started, breaking the silence subconsciously; the words slipped out of his mouth before he even realized he was speaking. "I remember the captain once telling me that my first night on the ship was exactly like this, the ship was rocking from a storm that hit us..." He watched the sheets of rain pelt onto the porthole window, then get progressively lighter. The ship's rocking began to slow down. "He said that he found me in the broom closet, huddled up and crying like a newborn baby." At that, Brazil giggled lightly. Perdo let a grin come across his face. "He just picked me up and took me back on the deck. By that time the rain had already stopped. He told me that I shouldn't worry, because rain is something all pirates have to go through and no small storm could stop him." Standing up, he held her up to the porthole to see out of the window. "And rain didn't stop him this night either, did it?"

Brazil watched as the skies cleared up, the storm clouds drifting away slowly. A smile graced her lips. "No...it didn't."

_Seize my words and listen well,_

_then forever I will tell._

* * *

><p><strong>Word translation:<strong>

_Irmãozinho:_ Little brother (Portuguese)

_Hermano:_ Brother (Spanish)

_Torrijas:_ A common Spanish breakfast, similar to French toast.

_Excusez-moi_: Excuse me (French)

_Ma tarte au Portugal: _My Portuguese tart

_Senhor:_ Sir (Portuguese)

_Menino:_ Boy (Portuguese)

_Criança: _Kid (Portuguese)


	3. Black means farewell

**LuvReinya: **Thank you so much,** _lunynha_**, for your nice review! I don't understand Portuguese, unfortunately, I use google translate for foreign words D; But, it made me happy to see that you liked my story and Portugal being a guy :3 I've done a lot of research on Portugal and Brazil, but feel free to give me some tips on how to portray Brazil, since you're Brazilian ^^

Although, Pirate!Portugal isn't going to show up in future chapters, except in flashbacks...And, in his subconscious (like Spain's pirate side shows up sometimes). I'll try to include lots of Pirate!Portugal flashbacks just for you XD

* * *

><p><em>Release your heart and feelings too,<em>

_just as I will do for you._

Portugal had never paid Brazil too much attention. Not even the years that passed after he had colonized her. He didn't want to raise her and shape her into a perfect country, he let her do that herself. The last time he had that sort of relationship with another country, that country left him to pursue other things. Never coming back to him for something as little as a 'How have you been?'. Sure, Brazil and the other colonies he ignored would do the same when they became to old enough to watch over themselves, but at least he wouldn't be attached to them. His relationship with them was strictly boss-lackey.

But, there were exceptions to his rule. Sometimes he would let up on Macau if he worked the boy too hard, or he would clean up after himself instead of having Angola clean his whole house as if she were a maid. Sometimes, he would even let his colonies cry to him if they were ever too grief stricken.

One day, Brazil – now the physical age of eight – came running to him, clutching onto his waist with her arms. The answer was clear and he already knew what she was going to say.

"Pedro..." She cried, letting tears stream down her face. "They told me he died...I'll never see him again!"

This was true. It had been many years since he had colonized the girl and Pedro grew older and grayer as Brazil herself grew much slower. It was inevitable that he would die early on in her life. He was only human, after all. Portugal was used to this, having many human friends before, but she was not. Pedro was her big brother figure, but it escalated into a father-daughter relationship as he got older. He raised her in Portugal's place and taught her everything that she knew. Portugal would miss him also, but it wasn't anything he didn't expect. He had gotten numb to the feeling a long time ago.

After a while of crying, Brazil spoke up. "He was my best friend..."

Portugal sighed and went to sit down, pulling her on his lap. He reached for a box of tissue and handed it to her, finally speaking. "I know, but...this is what happens when you befriend a human. They die _far_ before we do. When that happens, we just have to accept it and move on." He remembered telling Spain the same thing when his first human friend had died. Although, the thought of his brother made him uncomfortable. It reminded him of exactly _why_ he didn't want to become close with his other colonies.

Sniffling, Brazil thought over his words. Her face unreadable for a few moments until she wiped the tears from her eyes and buried her face in Portugal's chest. "Then...I don't want to make anymore human friends. I want to be friends with you and other nations." More tears fell from her eyes, her words obviously fueled by her grief.

_Friends with...me?_ Portugal thought to himself. This girl sure made it hard for him to keep her at a professional distance. "Uh, that may be best." He almost stuttered his words as he set her down on the floor, making her stand up before standing up himself. He turned to leave, positive that it was a good time to leave the child alone. "But, you should remember, making friends with other nations isn't as easy as you may think."

Brazil watched him walk away, still sniffling and wiping more tears away, before walking away to her room. Wondering what to do now that her only actual friend was gone.

* * *

><p><em>Release your heart and feelings too,<em>  
><em>just as I will do for you.<em>

Dinner was always an awkward time. At least for the adult countries, like Portugal, Angola, and Macau. Brazil was always blissfully unaware of the tension that shrouded the room, her childhood naivety blocking her ability to read the situation. There were no friendly conversations, no jokes, nothing. Most of the time, it was just Brazil who spoke, the girl had quite a mouth on her and could talk forever. Angola took a liking the little girl, so she would talk back and try to make pleasant conversation. Macau was much more serious and only spoke to give responses or go over things with Portugal about work.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to sew some more...feminine clothes for you, Ella?" Angola asked Brazil one night at dinner, using the nickname that she gave her the first day they met; though Brazil never cared for it too much.

Brazil had taken a liking to wearing Pedro's old clothes, his pants and blouses from when he was a kid. She told Portugal that they felt more comfortable than the skirts and dresses Angola wanted to put her in, saying she felt 'practically naked in them. She wasn't a tomboy by any means, but she was a very active child and it was understandable that she would prefer pants to dresses.

Brazil shook her head after she took a bite of her _bacalhou_. "No, I'm fine with the clothes I have now. They're easier to run in. I'll fall if I run around in a dress, won't I?" She laughed, swinging her legs around. The sound of her shoes hitting the chair made a noise that caused Portugal turn his attention to her, this made Macau speak up.

"Daniela, please don't swing your legs at the dinner table." He sent a stern look her way, making the child freeze her movements and sit still. Macau's seriousness had always intimidated her, so she did about anything he told her to.

Angola gave her a comforting smile before taking everyone's plates once they were done, going to wash them in the sink. She turned to Brazil once she was done, holding her hand out for the girl to take. "Now, let's get you washed up so you can go to bed. Alright, Ella?"

Brazil nodded, but glanced up at something else as they excited the dining room. Angola followed her gaze to see Portugal. He was talking over something with Macau, not paying attention to either of them. Angola sighed silently. No matter how much coddle and care for Brazil, the girl still wanted attention from the one person who wouldn't give it to her.

"Miss Adelina?" Brazil mumbled to Angola once she tucked her into bed.

Angola sat next to her, tucking her in. "Yes, _querida_?"

Sad eyes looked back up at her, Brazil's eyebrows arched upwards. "Does Mr. Portugal hate me?"

"Oh, Ella, he doesn't hate you..." The question was easy enough to answer, even though Angola knew the little girl would ask more questions – questions that might not be as easy to answer.

"Why does he ignore me then? Whenever I talk to him, he gives short answers or doesn't answer me at all!" Clutching her sheets, Brazil looked down. "I don't like being ignored, it makes me feel like no one cares about me..."

"Aw..." Angola wrapped her arms around Brazil and held her close, laying her own head on top of hers. "It's not like he doesn't care about you, he just treats most of his colonies like that. He likes to keep his relationships professional for a...personal reason." Angola thought back to when Macau told her of the story about Portugal's brother, Spain. "Think of this as something good. You're not as fiercely watched over like some colonies or beaten like others are. There are things Portugal has the power to do that he choses not to take action on."

Brazil listened closely to Angola as she said those words. Her voice seemed slightly laced with emotion, sadness. As if she had personally experienced the bad details of colonization. "Okay..." She leaned back into Angola's arms, closing her eyes slowly. The compassionate hug reminded her of Pedro and how he used to hug her close until she fell asleep on some of her first nights on the ship. "Maybe he'll open up someday." That was an unlikely chance, but Brazil wanted to hope that he would. She'd never had a parent before, and Portugal was the closest thing she had to a father now that Pedro was gone.

Angola softly sang some sort of African lullaby as she fell sleep. Letting the older woman lay her back on the bed and tuck her in as she let much needed sleep take over.

* * *

><p><em>Trust your heart and follow me,<em>  
><em>to that place we long to be.<em>

_('Follow me' - Michelle Newton)_

Nights always made Portugal slightly antsy – well, at least some nights. Mainly because things got a bit _too_ quiet. No one moving around constantly (*coughmacaucough*), no little children (*coughbrazilcough*) laughing and playing around, no sounds of someone cooking in the kitchen (*coughangolacough*). No one making all the noises he would find irritating in the morning. Funny how he longed to hear those noises now. It was just him and the crickets at night. The crickets seemed to make an even _more_ annoying noise.

Gazing out of his window, Portugal stretched tiredly, turning the page of the book he was reading. It was a book Spain had given him not too long before he left, a book set in the future about two brothers. The older brother was some sort of metal alchemist and the younger one was a soul trapped in a suit of armor.

…

Antonio always had weird taste.

"Sir, may I come in?" A voice called on the other side of the door. "I've brought your tea."

Finally, _some_ other noise besides the crickets. "Yes, come in, Chan-juan." Portugal called back, watching as the Asian man opened the door and stepped in.

Macau seemed ever so slightly surprised to see Portugal still in his clothes. "If I may say this, but you usually have your night clothes on at this time. Are you not planning on going to bed soon, sir?"

Portugal chuckled lightly and nodded. "Yes, I am. Right after I finish this book, I'm almost done with it."

Satisfied with that answer, Macau seemed as if he was going to say something else, but stopped himself. His gaze seemed to be fixed on the book – or rather, something _in_ the book. "I think something is sticking out of your book, if you'll see there." He pointed to something that was in the midst of falling out of the back of the book.

"Hm?" Portugal followed where Macau's finger was pointing and his eyes widened at the sight. Pulling it out, he saw that it was a letter...from Spain. Whatever Macau said next, Portugal didn't hear him. He was too enthralled in the letter to pay attention anything else. Opening it, Portugal began to read the words that Spain wrote.

_Hermano,_

_I know you're probably wondering why I've placed this letter in the back of this book, since I know you never peek at the ending of any book you read. But, I wanted you to read this after I had already left on my journey as a conquistador. I know you never use anything I give you, so was I right in thinking that? If so, I hope you are doing fine conquering new colonies. I bet you have many already, am I right? There are consequences to this lifestyle though, we might lose contact with each other or end up having to fight over colonies we both want to take over. If that ever happens, my only wish is that we don't lose our bond. We're bonded by blood, mi hermano. Let's not let anything break that bond, okay? Ah, what else do _

_I want to say..? Oh! And, teach your colonies how to make plenty of tomato dishes for me, alright? I'm sure they'll love that :)_

_Su hermano,_

_Antonio_

Yes, there was an actual smiley face in the letter.

Portugal couldn't help but let a smile break loose on his face. "Chan-juan..." He said after he regained his straight and slightly serious face.

"Sir?" Macau's attention was back on him.

"Pack some of my things. I'm traveling to Spain tomorrow morning."

* * *

><p><strong>Word translation:<strong>

_Querida: _Dear (Portuguese)

_Su hermano:_ Your brother (Spanish)


	4. Blue means the impossible

_A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world. - **Leo Buscaglia**_

The day after that night, Portugal began travel to Spain on his ship. Macau stayed behind with Angola, as usual, but he had brought Brazil along with him on his journey. It had been so long since he took care of a child and barely knew what to do with the little girl, but Brazil had shown to be a promising colony over the time she had been under his rule, so he wanted to keep a watchful eye over her. Although, the girl seemed quieter around him than usual, just keeping to herself most of the day or spending her time with Angola. Angola really was the girl's only friend, Macau or Portugal himself being no real company to her. She and Angola would usually spend their day tending to the flowers in Angola's garden. Angola would help Brazil tend to the _cattleya labiata_ flowers that she seemed to like so much, while Angola herself would take care of _w__elwitschia mirabilis_; a rather scary plant that was from the woman's homeland. Brazil seemed happy enough when they did those things, but after Angola would leave her to do something else, she would become quiet and saddened. Portugal wondered why the little girl's would change like that. Depression was not a feeling he would've liked Brazil to experience.

Not that he cared...Nope.

Okay, so maybe he did care. Maybe it was because he was used to her constant musings about whatever was on her mind, even though he would rarely respond to them.

After a few days of travel, Portugal found himself wondering where the little girl actually was. He only saw her at mealtimes and occasionally on the deck to get some fresh air. Looking through the rooms on his ship Portugal couldn't help but wonder if Brazil had taken to hiding in between those times, as she often did whenever she was upset or scared. She seemed content enough with Portugal's idea of going to Spain though, so why would she hide? He stepped into the library, spotting her sitting in the corner while reading a book. Taking a closer look, he saw that it was a sort of book about flowers. What was with this girl and flowers?

"_This is the traitor?" Portugal let his hand rest on the cutlass sword at his side as he gazed at the bound and tied man infront of him, watching as his crew held the struggling man still. André, standing at his side, gave a curt nod._

"_Sim, captain. He's a damned spy for the French." His first mate spoke with distain, giving the spy a hard glare._

"_Well then..." Portugal chuckled darkly, finding amusement in the captured man's frightened looks. "Do you know the punishment for deceiving me? What we do to spies?" Unsheathing his cutlass, he ordered his men to force the man down. "Death. But, I think I'll play with you before I take action on that. I rather liked you, so I'll keep you around for a little longer."_

_André let out a hearty laugh. He knew where this was going, but he had to ask for the hell of it. "What are you going to do to him, captain?"_

_One of his men forced the spy's hand out and held it firmly to the floor of the deck, allowing Portugal to trace the man's skin with his sword. "I think you know..." The pirate smirked, using the blade to pierce through flesh._

_As the French spy screamed in pain, no one noticed a tiny person behind them. Listening and watching everything with a horrified expression. A small whimper finally caught the Portuguese captain's attention, bringing his head up to see Brazil peering at the scene behind his men. Grunting rather nonchalantly, Portugal finished cutting the limbs off of the spy's left hand, taking his sword away. "Pedro." He glanced at the cabin boy standing to the far side of his men, not wanting to be apart of what was happening. He gave the boy a silent order, watching as he hurried to take Brazil back into the safe haven of the cabins below the deck. When they were out of sight, he continued with the spy's right hand. This time ordering for the man's mouth to be held shut to silence the screams._

* * *

><p><em>It didn't feel right to leave Brazil alone after letting her witness such a...violent act, especially done by her caretaker. Portugal thought it would be best to check on her after he was done dealing with the spy. After all, he didn't want her to be so scared that she'd go into hiding again.<em>

_Raising a hand, he got ready to knock on the door of the room the girl shared with Pedro. Before he had the chance to though, he heard quiet voices talking to each other. The conversation was probably no business of his, but he couldn't help but listen to them before he decided to come in._

"_What's this, Pedro?" He heard Brazil's small but high-pitched voice question._

"_Ah, that's a white rose. One of my favorite flowers." Pedro had answered back._

"_But, we just saw a red one not long ago. Roses come in different colors?"_

_A light laugh was heard. "Sim, eles fazem Dannie. Roses and many other flowers vary in color. But, the different colors of roses have different meanings. Do you want to know what they are?"_

"_Sim!" Came the enthusiastic voice of Brazil. Portugal had never heard the child speak so happily before. It seems Pedro had made her forget all about the gruesome incident that occurred not too long ago._

"_Okay, let's see...White means innocence."_

"_'Innocence'?"_

"_You don't know what innocence means?" Pedro had paused, making Portugal assume that Brazil nodded at his question. "Well, innocence means that something is free of sin. It's untouched by evil and is completely pure. But, it can also mean that someone is naïve to the world. They don't know the feeling of guilt, pain, or despair..." The cabin boy's voice trailed off, getting lost in thought._

_The sound of a page turning broke the short silence and Brazil, naïve herself to Pedro's troubles, spoke again. "What's this flower?"_

"_Huh?" The boy snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh! That's an orchid."_

_Brazil giggled. "I like that one~"_

"_Haha..." Pedro laughed weakly. "I like that one too."_

_Portugal walked away from the door, knowing that he had done enough snooping for one night. Brazil was fine with Pedro. She didn't need him._

"Mr. Portugal!" Jumping slightly at the sound of his name being called, Portugal looked to see where the voice came from. Brazil was standing by his side, watching him with her bright brown eyes. She must've found out that he was standing outside of the library's doorway. "Will you read this to me?" She held up a book, the title of it reading 'The Three Little Pigs'.

Portugal's eyebrows raised slightly. Read a story? He hadn't done that in years...The hardened conquerer liked to believe he was above reading simple children's stories to little kids. But, there was a faint tug at his heart when he saw the look on Brazil's face.

Sweet, polite, pleading.

…

Damn it...

His first reaction was to say no, that he didn't have time to spend the day reading stories to her. But, he couldn't seem to open his mouth to form the words. "What did you say?" Those words slipped out of his mouth before he even realized what he had said.

"Mr. Portugal?" The girl asked again, tugging at his jacket. "Will you read this to me?"

Before he could properly respond to her, Portugal heard his name being called again. Only this time by a much older and masculine voice. He turned, seeing his new first mate Benedito running up to his side.

"What is it, Benedito?" Portugal, absentmindedly ignoring Brazil's question all together, answered the man.

Benedito had taken the place of his long deceased former first mate, André. André had died long before Pedro had, in a bloody battle when the English had tried to take over Portugal's ship*. A man of twenty-two, Benedito was much younger than André had been when he became Portugal's first mate. But, Benedito was very familiar with the seas and good with a sword, qualities Portugal liked in a first mate. "We will be arriving in Madrid very soon, captain." The first mate cast a nonchalant glance at Portugal's side, to Brazil, before looking up at him again.

Portugal nodded, a small grin gracing his lips. "Ah! Good, tell the men that I will be up shortly to give them orders on what to do next."

"Yes, _senhor_." Benedito turned to carry out his orders, but stopped his steps and turned back around to face Portugal again. "A question, if I may, captain?"

"You may, tell me what's on your mind." Portugal crossed his arms, waiting for what the young man had to say.

"Was I interrupting something between you and your colony?"

Either Benedito's question came out the wrong way or it simply took Portugal by surprise, because he took note of his captain's sudden stunned and confused face. "Interrupting something?" Portugal repeated.

"I mean, she didn't seem happy with my intruding on the conversation you two where having." Benedito corrected himself. "I feel a bit bad for that."

_As if it was ever a conversation. _Portugal thought to himself.

Why was he talking about Brazil like she wasn't even here anyway? Didn't he know that she was–

_Huh? _Turning to look behind himself, Portugal saw that Brazil was long gone. She must've thought he was ignoring her and left shortly after Benedito came...

Portugal could be a cold bastard, he'd admit. But, he hadn't meant to blatantly ignore her like that.

Cursing himself silently in his head, he brushed off the feeling of guilt that was taking over him and brought his attention back to Benedito. _It's not my problem. It's not my problem..._He kept telling himself. "You didn't interrupt anything." He told his first mate. "But, if you want to make up for that inconvenience, I have a job for you." Benedito's interest was peaked. "After you tell the crew my orders, go and ask Brazil if she would like company. I think she has been by herself for too long since this trip started."

Benedito nodded obediently. "Yes, captain."

As Portugal watched his first mate go, he thought he saw the faint trace of a smirk across the boy's lips, but he blamed that vision on the dim lighting of the hallways. Casting a glance back at the library, Portugal started towards the deck himself. He wouldn't be a good companion for Brazil. He wasn't patient and friendly like Pedro was or compassionate and motherly like Angola was. At least not anymore. Those qualities were foreign to him now, so they were impossible to even fake. But, he needed someone who was. Benedito didn't necessarily have either one of those qualities, but he'd do.

Portugal believed that the boy was good enough.

* * *

><p><strong>LuvReinya:<strong> Here's the 4th chapter, finally! \o/ Sorry for any typos, I'm a typo machine.

School has been horrid for me, that's why this is so late ;~; But, here it is now! To newer readers, I changed Portugal's last name to Alvarez. I had a tough time picking either Santos or Alvarez, and if anyone got confused by that I'm sorry!

_'André had died long before Pedro had, in a bloody battle when the English had tried to take over Portugal's ship*.' _– I made this up completely, just so you guys know.

To **lunynha:** There will be Spamano, yes :3 Although, Spain won't really be a pedobear XD

To **Nyuu-neechan:** You're right, Portugal wouldn't have Spain's last name. I can't believe I didn't figure that out until you told me D; But, I changed his last name to Alvarez. How's that? ^^ I did think it'd be more suitable for her to speak Tupi also, but I couldn't find any Tupi words. So, that's how that happened XD


	5. Indigo means youth

**LuvReinya: **Here's a quick chapter, because I'm getting really busy and I should focus on some of my other stories for a short while. So, here's something to hold you guys for that time ^^

* * *

><p><em>To love is to suffer. To avoid suffering one must not love. But then one suffers from not loving. Therefore to love is to suffer, not to love is to suffer. To suffer is to suffer. To be happy is to love. To be happy then is to suffer. But suffering makes one unhappy. Therefore, to be unhappy one must love, or love to suffer, or suffer from too much happiness. I hope you're getting this down."<em>

_- **Woody Allen**_

"Come on you dumb bull, come get your damn food." Romano scowled as he held out a large bowl of tomatoes for Spain's bull to eat, stepping away cautiously when the bull came over rather quickly to eat the delicious red treat. Not that he was scared of the bull or anything. No.

"SPAMOOOOO~" The bull mooed happily, eating the tomatoes. Romano just crossed his arms.

"Heh. Bastard bull..."

He left the bull's stable and turned to close the gate, struggling to close it with his small arms. "Hey, why won't this stupid thing close?" He began to curse Spain for even asking him to do this task. Why did he decide to do it anyway? He hated doing work for that bastard! "Dammit, close you stupid gate!" Pushing harder, his face turned red with frustration until the gate finally closed with more ease than he thought was possible. Unfortunately, the sudden closing caused him to fall down flat on his face. "Huh...?" He pushed himself up and stared at the gate. "I did it?" He let out a triumphant laugh. He sure showed that gate! _Hah! I knew I was too strong for that damned gate!_ He thought to himself.

"Oh, Lovi! Are you alright?" An all too familiar voice asked, worried.

Romano cast his gaze up to see Spain above him, with a remorseful face. Spain picked him up, setting him back on his feet, and crouched down next to him. "I'm sorry! I saw you struggling to close the gate and wanted to help you, I didn't mean to make you fall..."

"Bastard, let go of me!" Romano wriggled out of the Spaniard's arms angrily. "I could've closed that gate by myself! Why'd you do that?"

Spain just smiled, noticing the cute shade of red that his little henchman's face had turned. He looked just like a tomato. "I just didn't want you to have any trouble, Roma~ Was that wrong of me?"

The blush Romano already had on his face turned an even brighter red. "J-Just shut up, you jerk!" Spain ruffled his hair.

"Ha~ Okay, Lovi..." He chuckled, standing back up. "Listen though, I've gotten word that a visitor is coming to see me later on. Can you be on your best behavior for boss when they come?"

Romano scowled. "Don't tell me what to do! I'll behave however I want. I don't care who's coming!"

Spain sighed, knowing that Romano wouldn't listen to him, but couldn't help but keep his smile. Romano was so cute when he acted stubborn. "Just try, okay Lovi?"

"We'll see, bastard." Looking away from the older man, Romano started to trudge away from him and back to Spain's home.

Spain watched his henchman leave before pulling a letter out of his pocket, reading it silently.

_ Spain,_

_ I am coming to see you at your home in Madrid. I expect to be there by the 5th day of June._

_ Portugal_

Reading it over once more, Spain slipped the letter back in his pocket. _So straight forward, my hermano..._He chuckled to himself, though there wasn't much he had to laugh about. He didn't know how Portugal would react to seeing him after so long or why he even wanted to visit. It had been _so long_ since they last saw each other face to face. So very long. _I guess I'll have to wait and see what he wants then._ Spain began to walk back his house himself before something caught his eye.

"José!" He shouted, gathering the attention of a small dark tan-skinned boy who was trying to sneak some food. "What did I tell you? I forbade you to eat until you finished working!"

The child's eyes widened when Spain snatched the plate of food out of his hands, eyes tearing up. "B-But, _por favour_...I'm so hungry, I haven't eaten all day."

Spain's eyes were cold and uncaring, his smile had gone some time ago. "What? Are you going to die of starvation?" He gave a stiff laugh. "You're _Nueva España*_, I don't think a little hunger will slow you down. Now get back to work!"

The boy flinched when Spain rose his hand, although the Spaniard only meant to shoo him away, running off without another word.

Spain let out a sigh of frustration, glancing at the food. A pang of guilt tugged at his heart. He had no real reason to treat the boy the way he treated him and he knew it. Maybe he'd let Mexico have something to eat a bit sooner than he had told him. Just maybe.

* * *

><p>"<em>Señor <em>S-Spain...?" A maid peeked her head into the Spanish man's room cautiously before stepping in.

Spain, who was watching Romano talk to the Netherlands through his window with a slight scowl, turned to look at her. He must've still had the scowl on his face, because the maid stepped back with wide eyes. "_Sí_?"

"Your b-brother, _Señor_ P-Portugal is here."

Forgetting about Romano and Netherlands for a minute, Spain's mind left for a split second to wander. His brother was here, finally _here_. He was about to see Portugal again. He frowned.

He wasn't exactly thrilled.

Snapping out of his daze, he nodded. "Alright, let him in and show him into the living room. I'll be down in a minute."

The maid hesitated. "Um..."

Spain raised an eyebrow. "_Sí?_ What now?"

"Well, he seems to have brought his colony with him. The child personification of Brazil."

Portugal brought someone with him? Spain had never known his brother to be bothered with taking someone else on a journey with him. Even when they were children, Portugal liked to travel to places alone. "I can't be bothered with that right now." He waved the maid off. "Let the child do whatever, just make sure it won't be in the way of my and Portugal's conversation."

"_Sí, señor._" The maid bowed, hurrying out of his room.

Spain leaned against the window, looking out of it again to see if Romano and Netherlands where still there. They weren't, all that was seen were the tomato fields and the bright red tomatoes that filled them.

"Hey, bastard!"

A smile came onto Spain's face before he knew it, turning to see where the voice he knew so well came from. "Lovi?" He asked, looking down at the Southern Italian that wandered into his room.

"Why didn't you tell me there was another jerk that looked like you?" The little boy fumed, flailing his tiny arms. "I saw the bastard walking in and thought he was you!"

_Ah, so Lovi saw Portugal..._Spain thought as he patted Romano's head. "Aw, Lovi~ You thought he was me~? That's so cute!" He chuckled, making the Italian angrier.

"It's not funny! You tricked me!" Romano tried to shake Spain's hand off of his head. "Who is he anyway?"

"Well, that was _mi hermano_. He came to visit me, Lovi~"

"Your what? Speak a language I can understand, you jerk!"

Spain shook his head. "Sorry, Lovi." He gave the child an apologetic smile. "I said that he's my brother, _fratello _in your language."

"Oh...Well, why didn't you just say that?" Glaring at Spain, Romano continued. "So, there's another one of you?"

Spain chuckled and picked Romano up, ignoring the boy's kicks and shouts of resistance. "In a way, yes. We look similar, but physically, he's two years older than I am. Although, he's been around much longer. He's my older brother, Portugal."

"Hey, let go of me bastard!" Romano tried to worm out of Spain's grip as the man started to leave the room with him. Of course, his movements were in vain. "At least tell me where we're going!"

"Downstairs, silly Lovi! We're going to see _mi hermano_~"

Romano scoffed, crossing his arms and letting himself be taken downstairs. "He better not act like you. One pedo is enough around here..."

* * *

><p><strong> LuvReinya: <strong>_Nueva España_ (New Spain) is Mexico's former name, just so you guys know. The poem in the beginning is supposed to symbolize Romano and how he always rejects Spain's feelings. And, I hope you all liked this short chapter :D


	6. Pink means appreciation

_When I was in elementary school I thought anything special was wonderful._

_When I squeezed just a little toothpaste onto my toothbrush and it smelled quite nice,_

_It made me happy for some reason._

_Even the way summer passes and autumn comes and then winter_

_Is thanks to an ordinary, wonderful angel!_

_- 'Love & Peace' by __**Mano Erina**_

* * *

><p>Brazil stood on her tip toes, trying to pull herself into the oak chair beside Portugal, but couldn't seem to do so. She furrowed her brows and tried again, waving her legs as if that would help. It only pulled her down once again. "Aw! I can't do it..." She said, mainly to herself.<p>

Portugal looked away from a painting of Spain on the wall to her, grinning slightly in amusement.

Shaking her head, Brazil decided to just stand by Portugal's chair and wait there patiently for whatever was going to happen. The only thing she knew was that Portugal was here to see his brother and speak with him. She knew enough from his demeanor that he wasn't on the best of terms with his brother, the man named Spain, but Brazil wondered why. She didn't have a family of her own, but she knew enough to think that brothers should get along. So, why didn't Portugal get along with his brother? It was hard to think at the moment, because Brazil hadn't eaten for a while and her stomach was growling. "Mr. Portugal, I'm hungry..." She tugged on Portugal's jacket lightly, a bit afraid that she was being a burden to the silent man.

Portugal looked down at her with a raised brow. "Didn't you eat breakfast on the ship this morning?" He asked. The girl shook her head.

"Well..." Brazil scratched her head sheepishly, looking down at the floor. "I wasn't hungry earlier, so I didn't go eat breakfast."

"Ah..." Her caretaker answered simply. He looked away from her, feeling a smile tug on his lips. He had forgotten how cute children could be, and Brazil was no exception just because she was a country. Reaching down, he patted her head gently. "You can eat later, once we get back on the ship. _Tudo bem?_"

His unusually nice reaction made Brazil smile back, happy. "Okay then!"

Taking his hand off of her head, he heard footsteps come into the room. Portugal's rare smile left his face just in time to see Spain come into the room, with a irritated-looking child in his arms nonetheless. Portugal looked his brother up and down. Something had changed in his brother since the Iberian Union, something in his demeanor. The kid certainly didn't help the image, but Spain's eyes were different than they were before. He didn't seem as hostile or power-hungry as he used to be. He seemed calmer, more pleasant. "Spain." Portugal greeted formally, nodding slightly in recognition.

The Spaniard set the little child down, walking over to sit in the seat across from his brother. "_Hermano_." One thing Spain never stopped doing, no matter what happened, was calling Portugal his brother. Even when laced with resentment, Spain never called him anything else. Even though Portugal ceased referring to him as brother a long time ago.

The little boy looked between the two brothers and their staring contest before speaking up. "Bas – I mean, Spain – this is boring, can I go do something else?"

Spain took his eyes off of Portugal to focus on the child. "Hold on a minute, Romano." Looking back at Portugal, Spain spoke again. "I believe you already know about my colony, the Southern Part of Italy. This is Romano." He said, gesturing towards the cranky boy. "Romano, this is my _hermano_;Portugal."

Romano took one look at Portugal before shrugging. That was as good as a hello Spain would get out of him.

Portugal looked down at Brazil, who was still standing beside his chair in polite silence, and motioned for her to step forward. "This is Brazil, my own colony."

Taking that as her cue to talk, Brazil looked over at Spain. "Hello..." She squeaked out before stepping behind Portugal once again. To her childish mind, everything seemed so important and serious. She wanted nothing more than to leave the tense room and go somewhere else.

Spain gave her a small smile and nodded, placing his hand on Romano's back to push him forward a little. "Why don't you take Brazil somewhere and play while we talk, Romano?" He suggested, making the young boy frown.

"I don't 'play', jerk!" Romano scowled at Spain, earning nothing but a look from Spain.

"Romano." Spain loved the boy, but he wasn't one to let anyone (let alone his own colony) yell at him in the presence of another powerful country. The look he gave Romano said 'Shut up and do what I say'.

The Southern Italian was feisty, but he wasn't an idiot. He knew how Spain could get just from watching him with his other colonies. "Fine..." He grumbled, walking over to Brazil and grabbing her wrist. "Come with me."

Leaving Spain and Portugal to talk, Romano brought Brazil outside to the garden, letting go of her wrist to turn around. "Alright, _bastarda_, you have to listen to me from now on and I – Wait, hold on a minute!" He gaped up at her, just now realizing that the Brazilian girl was taller than he was; at least by a head. "Why are you taller than I am? I'm older than you!"

The Brazilian girl looked down at him with wide eyes, she had never seen another child personification before and this Romano was a...weird sight to behold. She really used to be this small herself? "I don't know..?" She answered him, giving a nervous smile. Boy, was this kid pushy. "So, your name is Romano?"

Romano crossed his arms, glaring at Brazil. "Yes, but you have to call me Italy Romano. Got it?"

"Why?" The girl questioned. Brazil had to call Romano _two _names? She didn't think so. "Why can't I just call you Romano? It sounds formal enough..."

"Because!"

"Because why?"

"Because I said so!"

Brazil puffed her cheeks out, getting a little frustrated with the Italian. Crossing her arms also, she stood her ground against him. "Well then, you have to call me _Senhorita_ Brazil!"

Romano jerked back. "What? Get real, I'm not calling you that!"

"Then I won't call you call you Italy Romano."

"Dammit, _bastarda_!" Romano grumbled and turned his back to her. He stood there for a few moments before looking back at her. "Fine..."

Uncrossing her arms, Brazil smiled in triumph. "Then it's settled. Nice to meet you, Romano!"

"Tch..." Romano turned back around, sticking his tongue out at her. "Can't say the same about you, but whatever. What do you want to do? The bastards are in there talking about crap and we're stuck out here doing nothing."

Brazil looked around, seeing nothing but a garden of tomatoes, olives, and other things. "Well, I'm kind of hungry..."

Romano tapped his foot impatiently. "You didn't eat before you came here?" Not waiting for an answer, he went over to grab a fresh tomato from a vine and wiped it off on his dress.

...Brazil just noticed he was wearing a dress. What a weird boy. But, she was wearing boy's clothes, so she couldn't say anything about it.

"Here, eat this." He said, handing her the bright red fruit.

"Thank you!" Brazil took a bite out of it, chewing slowly. She honestly couldn't say she cared for it too much, but it was food.

"How is it?" Romano asked, noticing the bland look on her face.

Shoot, he wanted to know if she liked it? "Ah, it's g-good!" Brazil answered, smiling out of nervousness again. The motion reminded Romano of Spain.

Romano narrowed his eyes. "You know, you don't have to lie. Do you like it or not?"

"Well..." Brazil blushed. "I don't really like vegetables, I like meat."

Romano smirked a bit and scoffed. "Tomatoes are a fruit, not a vegetable, _idiota_."

"Oh..." Brazil looked down, embarrassed.

"Heh. S'alright, you can't help it if you're ignorant..." Romano motioned for her to follow him, walking to another part of Spain's estate. "I don't know where any meat is, but we can look in the kitchen for something..."

"Okay~" Brazil smiled and trailed behind the Italian, looking over at him. "You know, I thought you were mean at first but you're really nice, Romano!"

"Wha?" The boy stared at her, surprised. "Jerk, I'm not nice! I'm hungry too, so we might as well go eat something!"

"Why don't you want to be nice?" Questioned Brazil, now walking beside him.

"So I won't be a pushover! If I start acting nice, people would walk all over me." He pointed at finger at her. "So, don't start thinking I'm nice. Okay?"

The girl shrugged, still smiling. "Whatever you say, Romano."

"Romano~!" A new voice called out. Both of the children looked to see a blonde haired woman running up to them, waving. She stopped infront of them and smiled at the two. "Hello!" She greeted, talking more to Brazil than Romano. "I've never seen you around here before. Oh, Romano, is she your girlfriend~?" The woman giggled teasingly, making Romano blush furiously.

"No, she's not! She's just a girl who's visiting, that's all..." The boy fumed, kicking a pebble off the ground.

Brazil smiled back at the blonde woman. "My name is Brazil, I'm one of Portugal's colonies!" She told the woman.

The woman's eyes widened a bit. "Portugal's colony? That would mean he's here, huh?" She wondered what was Portugal doing in Spain of all places. She hoped it was a good thing. "I'm Belgium, it's nice to meet you! You're a little cutie, aren't you?" Belgium pulled a strand of Brazil's wavy hair lightly, making it bounce when she let it go.

Romano looked between the two girls and frowned, feeling a little jealous. "Anyway..." He said, turning on his 'cute mode' and pulled on Belgium's dress. "We're hungry, _Signora _Belgium~ Will you give us something to eat?" The boy gave her his best puppy dog face.

"Sure, Romano!" Belgium nodded enthusiastically, seeming to like the opportunity to cook. "Why don't I make you and your girlfriend some waffles?"

Romano's act broke. "She's not my girlfriend!"

* * *

><p>"Brazil, why do you dress in boy's clothes?" Belgium ate with the two children in Spain's dining room, looking across the table at the little girl.<p>

Brazil looked down at the old clothes she was wearing, looking back up at Belgium. "They're comfortable." She answered simply, kicking her feet playfully in the chair.

"Really?" Belgium pressed on, honestly wondering why any normal girl would want to wear _boy's_ clothes. Besides Hungary... "That's the only reason?"

"Well..." The girl continued, gazing up at the ceiling in thought. "They belonged to my former caretaker, Pedro. But, he died a long time ago." She paused. A pause long enough to make even Romano look up from his plate to her in curiosity.

Belgium leaned on the table a bit, wanting to know more. "And~?"

Brazil took her eyes off of the ceiling, back at Belgium. "And? I thought that was what you wanted to know..."

Romano and Belgium almost faceplanted into their waffles. "N-Not quite, honey..." Belgium couldn't help but laugh at the clueless girl. She obviously couldn't read in between the lines yet. "Is the reason you wear those clothes because you want to feel closer to your old caretaker?"

Tapping her fork to her mouth, Brazil thought over Belgium's words. "I never thought of it that way. Maybe."

"I hardly think she knows why she does anything..." Romano mumbled, taking the last bite of his waffle.

"Oh, Romano." Belgium rolled her eyes. "Do you have a new caretaker now, Brazil?"

Brazil nodded. "Mm-hm, his name is Benedito."

"Do you like him as much as you like Pedro?"

"He's okay..." Brazil picked at her empty plate, setting her fork down. "Thank you for the food, Ms. Belgium!"

Noting the subject change, Belgium decided to leave the girl alone. "Not a problem, hun. Anything for Romano's girlfriend~" Ignoring Romano's growl the woman stood up, taking everyone's plates and went to wash them in the kitchen, leaving the children alone again.

"Hey...Brazil?" The girl glanced at Romano, who was looking down in his seat with a constipated look on his face.

"Yes?" She answered back, taking note that it was the first time he called her by her name.

"You think you and that guy will be coming back anytime soon?" He asked quietly. "Not that I like your company or anything, it just gets boring around here with no other kids around. Spain works that Mexico kid all day, so he's no fun..."

Romano wanted her to visit him again? "I'm not sure, I'll have to ask Portugal." Brazil smiled. "I like playing with you too, Romano!"

"I didn't say I liked playing with you, dammit!" Romano turned red, flailing his arms around. "And I don't play!"

* * *

><p><strong>LuvReinya: <strong>Romano isn't polite to Brazil because I would think that he'd only be nice to older women, because they're more attractive to him than kids his own age, if that makes sense. Plus, it makes the story more interesting than Romano just fawning over her lol. And, just so you all know, this isn't a Romano/OC story ^^

Anyway, I need you guys' help! More official pics of Portugal came out, but they're different sketches that Himaruya was trying out. Here they are:

http : / / blog-imgs-38-origin . fc2 . com / h / I / m / himaruya / poruporus . jpg (Older looking Portugal looks so much like Ancient Rome XD)

http : / / blog-imgs-38-origin . fc2 . com / h / I / m / himaruya / rakigaki . jpg (that kinda looks like Macau in the lower corner above the smaller pic of Portugal :o)

Two of the drawings in each pic are Fem!Portugals, but of course we're having male Portugal in this story ^^ I need you guys to choose which drawing to base this story's Portugal off of. Let's work off of the second link's pic. In that pic, from top to bottom, it's fem!Portugal, fem!Portugal, a carefree-looking Portugal, and then a Portugal who resembles Spain more. So either, carefree Portugal, Spain-ish Portugal, or older Portugal from the first pic. Carefree!Portugal is most likely the one Himaruya will use in Hetalia, but Spain-ish Portugal looks really cute XD *bricked*


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